The sous chef in charge that morning checks it before they give it to the bar. It's a big deal." - Ti Martin on Commander's Palace's Bloody Mary mix

So where did the Bloody Mary originate? It has nothing to do with the brutal Queen Mary I, who had that nickname. The history of British royals is much more well-documented than that of this cocktail.

Cocktail historians agree on a few points. Writing on liquor.com in 2010, local cocktail guru Wayne Curtis says the drink seems to have begun in Paris at Harry’s New York Bar in the early 1920s. Bartender Pete Petiot made a rudimentary version that he brought to the King Cole Bar at the St. Regis Hotel in New York after Prohibition, and called it “The Red Snapper.” There, he added the devilish seasonings: horseradish, Tabasco, lemon juice and celery salt.

However, drinks writer Dave Wondrich of Esquire points out that the Red Snapper was tomato juice and gin. He notes that the Bloody Mary escaped the “freak drink” category it was in 50 years ago (one bartender called it a “savage combination of tomato juice and vodka”) and made the leap to country clubs, where the Bloody Mary has become “second only to the martini in the world of WASP drinking.”

The Bloody Mary has always owned its reputation as a hangover cure. Curtis quotes David Embury, the cocktail writer who, in 1948, called the Bloody Mary “a classic example of combining in one potion both the poison and the antidote.”

The New Orleans footnote in Bloody Mary history is the Bloody Bull, which has many fans. Beef bouillon is added to the cocktail. (Note: The Bull Shot is bouillon and vodka, no tomato juice.)

The creation of the Bloody Bull is widely attributed to Brennan’s restaurant, possibly as early as the 1950s.

Tony Abou-Ganim's book about vodka cocktails quotes Ella Brennan as saying, “I remember the drink, but not who invented it. I remember them joking about serving soup” during her days at Brennan’s.

The Bloody Mary served at jazz brunch at Commander’s Palace is without peer. The rim of the glass is dipped in Commander’s Creole seasoning, which, like the Worcestershire sauce in it, is housemade. The garnishes are speared with sticks of sugar cane.

“The sous chef in charge that morning checks it before they give it to the bar. It’s a big deal. It has to be right all the time,” Martin said. “The sous chef and bartender go back and forth and doctor it for consistency. Today’s onion is stronger than yesterday’s, that kind of thing.”

When a customer orders a Bloody Mary, a bottle of vodka encased in ice is brought to the table for an impressive and generous pour.

“That’s what touches me,” Martin said. “The whole frozen vodka thing was Jamie” Shannon, the late Commander’s chef. “He loved his Bloody Marys. He talked to Mom (Ella Brennan) about, ‘What else can we do to enhance the customer experience?’”

To duplicate this effect, freeze the bottom two-thirds of a bottle of premium vodka in a plastic container or bowl at least two inches in diameter wider than the vodka bottle and filled with water.

When it’s time to serve, run hot tap water over the container to release the ice. Set the bottle in a shallow bowl to bring to the table.

Place ice cubes in a tall glass until it’s 2/3 full. Add vodka, horseradish, Worcestershire, hot sauce and vegetable juice. Cover the glass with a shaker; shake well, then let rest in the shaker. Wet the rim of the glass and coat the entire rim with Creole seasoning. Pour the drink back into the glass and garnish with the pepper and okra.

If you like extra seasoning, season the top of the drink with freshly cracked pepper and coarse salt.

***

Master mixologist and James Beard award winner Dale DeGroff, one of the founders of the Museum of the American Cocktail, shared his favorite recipe for the Bloody Bull in an email.

“I cannot dispute or confirm the story that this was a Brennan's drink,” he said. “I do know it was a favorite in NYC steak houses for generations.”

DeGroff also adds a different garnish — orange peel — and a dash of fresh orange juice to the drink

“The orange is much more satisfying than lemon or lime for this variation of the Bloody Mary,” he wrote. “Think beef with orange from your last visit to a Chinese restaurant. ... Beef and orange like one another.”

He also shakes the cocktail to create a froth on top.

Dale DeGroff’s Bloody Bull

Makes 1 cocktail

1-1/2 ounces vodka

Dash of fresh orange juice

4 dashes Tabasco

Dash of pepper

3 ounces beef broth

2 ounces tomato juice

Garnish: Orange peel

Combine all ingredients in mixing glass and shake well. Strain into a goblet glass over ice. Garnish with an orange peel.

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Several years ago at Tales of the Cocktail, I went to a session on brunch drinks presided over by Virginia mixologist Todd Thrasher, wearing a bathrobe. His pale version of the classic drink looked unimpressive, but blew away the drinkers in the room — or at least me. Since then, his Tomato Water Bloody Mary has spread far and wide, and it’s easy to create at home.

Thrasher uses Beefsteak tomatoes, but other flavorful heirlooms would work as well. Tomatoes and other vegetables are pureed the night before and strained overnight in the refrigerator. Citrus juices are an important addition to the mix.

The next morning, add citrus vodka and cherry tomatoes to the mix and serve. Be prepared for your guests to be blown away.

For tomato water: In food processor, purée first six ingredients until smooth. Line sieve with cheesecloth and set sieve over nonreactive bowl. Pour purée into center of cheesecloth and refrigerate overnight.

Gather sides of cheesecloth up over purée to form large sack and squeeze gently to extract last bits of water. Discard sack and its contents and transfer tomato water to bowl. Set strainer over bowl and squeeze in lime, lemon and orange juice. Stir well. Makes about 20 ounces of tomato water, enough for about four drinks.

For Bloody Mary

Fill four highball glasses with ice. In each, combine 4 ounces tomato water and 1-1/2 ounces vodka, and stir. Garnish with cherry tomatoes.